ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cold — an illness
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stock — goods
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. capital — money
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — shares
  20. kid — child
  21. deal — to handle
  22. date — the fruit
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com